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Air Force Looks Into ‘Inspirational’ Video

WASHINGTON — The Air Force has begun an investigation into whether an e-mail message from an Air Force commander in Europe directing air personnel under her command to an “inspirational” story on a Catholic Web site violated the military’s official position of religious neutrality.

The commander, Col. Kimberly Toney, who leads the 501st Combat Support Wing in Europe, sent the thousands of air personnel in her wing a message last month recommending that they “take a few minutes to enjoy the attached video and meet a truly inspirational individual.”

The video highlighted the life story of Nick Vujicic, now 26, who was born without arms or legs and who credited his faith in Jesus with helping him overcome his physical limitations.

Some Air Force personnel who watched the video said they believed that it breached the military’s ban on endorsing particular religious views. Some viewers said they were even more bothered by articles and commentary on the Catholic Web site, 4marks.com.

One image on the site satirized President Obama’s support for abortion rights by showing him wearing a Nazi uniform and waving a flag with a swastika in an image labeled “ObamaHitler.” Another article, also critical of Mr. Obama’s stance on abortion, called him “a veritable forerunner of the Antichrist.”

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a nonprofit watchdog group that monitors possible religious bias in the military, said it had received about 60 complaints from military personnel about the colonel’s e-mail message.

Among them was one from Master Sgt. Jeffrey L. Thompson, who works under Colonel Toney at the Royal Air Force Alconbury base in England and objected to military officials at the base about the e-mail message.

“A commander shouldn’t send out any type of e-mail that’s perceived as endorsing a particular faith system,” Sergeant Thompson, who is Catholic, said in a telephone interview. “It crossed a line, I thought. My faith stays in my home life and my church life.”

Colonel Toney sent out a second e-mail message to the personnel in her wing last month apologizing for sending out the link “to what I believed was an inspirational message about hope and encouragement.” She said she was unaware when she sent the link that the Web site contained “inappropriate” material.

Although Sergeant Thompson said he was prevented from filing a formal complaint because the Air Force said he had not suffered any personal harm, the Third Air Force Command in Europe has opened a broader investigation into the episode, officials said Friday.

“The purpose of this process is to look at all of the information and make a determination as to whether there’s been any sort of violation of policy and, if so, what action is warranted,” said Darlene Cowsert, a spokeswoman for the Air Force’s European command.

Colonel Toney could not be reached for comment.

Officials at the Air Force, which was hit with controversy in 2004 over charges of pro-Christian bias at the Air Force Academy in Colorado, said they had made significant strides to enforce a position of official neutrality on religion.

“We feel that the policy is clear, and we’re consistent with our message, but unfortunately there are isolated cases that come up,” Capt. Thomas Wenz, a spokesman at Air Force headquarters in Northern Virginia, said of the recent episode.

But Mikey Weinstein, who heads the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, said the incident represented a “textbook case” of improper religious influence.

“There’s a pervasive pattern of constitutional abuse when you have a wing commander who sends out a direct, proselytizing e-mail with a link to a Web site that slanders the president of the United States,” he said.

Mr. Weinstein’s group is suing the Defense Department in federal court over what it charges is a pattern of religious bias, and the Obama administration is set to respond to the lawsuit later this month. As a result of the Toney episode, Sergeant Thompson said he was considering joining the litigation as a plaintiff.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A27 of the New York edition with the headline: Air Force Looks Into ‘Inspirational’ Video. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe